Memphis, Tennessee, police arrested a man for allegedly trespassing into Mayor Paul Young’s gated neighborhood late on June 15, discovering a stun gun, gloves, rope, and duct tape in his car.
Trenton Abston, 25, was arrested on June 18. He is charged with aggravated criminal trespassing and stalking, both misdemeanors. Shortly after his first appearance in criminal court, Abston was charged with felony attempted kidnapping.
“During his arrest, officers discovered a Taser, gloves, rope, and duct tape in his vehicle. “The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed,” the Memphis Police Department stated in a Facebook post.
“After reviewing both public and private security camera footage, we determined that the suspect did not approach multiple homes, as previously reported. Instead, after scaling a wall, the individual went straight to the Mayor’s residence.”
According to a police email obtained by The Commercial Appeal, a division of the USA TODAY Network, a man jumped over a fence into Young’s East Memphis neighborhood and knocked on his door around 9:30 p.m. on June 15. The man fled the residence before police could talk with him, but his image was captured on a doorbell camera.
According to a police affidavit, Abston’s vehicle was “captured by video systems in the immediate area of Paul Young’s residence on multiple occasions between May and June 2025.”
When Abston was apprehended, police say he “admitted to researching” Young’s house and driving by it to confirm his presence there.
“He admitted to waiting until Sunday evening to go to the residence to confront Paul Young about crime in the city of Memphis and stated he was angry at Paul Young and was armed with a Taser when he went to the residence,” according to the declaration.
“Given the expressed motivation and anger toward the victim, multiple visits to the victim’s neighborhood or home, the admitted recent purchase and possession of rope and duct tape, the climbing of a wall surrounding the victim’s private gated neighborhood at night, approaching the residence armed with a Taser and knocking on the victim’s door, Abston took substantial steps toward the commission of a kidnapping,” according to the declaration.
Police credited “the rapid response of our officers and the use of camera technology throughout the neighborhood” with identifying the man.
According to the criminal court system, this was Abston’s first appearance in court, save from two traffic penalties.
The incident comes after the Minnesota shootings.
The alleged trespassing occurred amid heightened political tensions after a Minnesota man allegedly went into multiple residences and shot two state lawmakers and their spouses in the early hours of June 14.
Two people were killed: Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman, were injured in a separate incident.
It was Young’s second encounter with potential danger since being sworn in as mayor. In March 2024, Young was grabbed by a man attempting to enter his vehicle. Young was unharmed in the incident, and his security detail was able to stop the man from entering the car.
A “small amount of pepper spray” was sprayed at the man in that incident, according to City Communications Director Penelope Huston.
Young, in a Facebook post following the arrest, alongside a photo of his wife and children, stated that online rhetoric has been leading to violence in recent months.
“In today’s world, especially after the sad events in Minnesota and the threats my wife and I frequently receive online, none of us can be too cautious. Young wrote, “The connection between angry online rhetoric and real-life violence is becoming undeniable.”
